Design Perspectives: About a Boy

Our Fall 2010 Le Top baby collection features the “Puppy Park” navy velour group. In designing “Puppy Park” we were inspired by the luscious feel of velour and the revival of the classic boy color for fall – navy. Marykate, our head baby designer, started with some puppy sketches that inspired a darling print, irresistible “puppy face” accessories, and gorgeous baby boy outfits. What can be more classically “boy” than navy velour on a cool winter’s day? Check out the “Puppy Park” group on our website!”

shop Le Top baby’s fall 2010 collection here

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Le Top Doggie Couture Update!

It’s no secret that we LOVE clothes at Le Top! We are the invariable audience that goos and gushes over the sweetness of the le•top baby collection and laughs with delight at whimsical Le Top styles.  But we have a little secret here, behind the scenes…it’s the wildly creative fashions that our employees dream up for their four-legged friends (and sometimes office mates!)

Cengx (our wonderful “style supporter” and A+ girl-Friday’s) incredibly energetic Pomeranian Charemie is always prancing in with the newest le•top outfit – an ‘original’ design that Cengx has customized in a truly unique kind of haute couture.  (We always know when Charemie is in the house – his little voice carries through walls!)  Karen loves to dress Olive (the wonder dog) in her New York Yankees outfit – whether to flaunt her loyalties at her sons’ baseball games, or make a simple fashion stroll around the office, aimed towards torturing loyal Giants and A’s fans!  Riley, Marilyn’s rambunctious rescued German Sheppard mix has long made his mark – he loves playing in his le•top namesake costume (Halloween will be a big day for Riley!) We would be amiss if we did not mention our more contemporary collection…Rolando, the head designer of rabbitmoon, is always pushing the trends! He loves creating fashion-forward garments for his Chihuahua Rooye. Why copy another rabbitmoon style – he creates chic styles for this fashion forward pup that we just had to share!

We know you adore clothes as much as we do – and we are betting that you dress your pets… just like this critter and fashion focused group!  Share with us! Send us a photo of your four-legged friend wearing a fashionable favorite!

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Ducks, Zebra…Chicken?

Everyone’s been wanting to see this infamous “zebra” jacket I wrote about last week, but I couldn’t find a good picture from the dinner. So, I decided to go see my friend and her daughter to do a little “photoshoot”. Her gorgeous (part Russian, part Native American, Ukrainian, Italian and Irish!) green-eyed daughter, Sasha (Alexandra) is a ball of energy who doesn’t stop laughing and running around! I asked her to come give me hug, so her mom, Tatiana, could quickly get a shot, but Sasha immediately ran off to grab something. That “something” turned out to be her pet chicken, that (strangely) loves being held and carried around. Then, there was a good 20 minutes of running around after the chicken, away from the chicken (that would be me), and trying to get the chicken to sit at the table…yes, I mean that…that wasn’t a typo. I managed to engage Sasha in a conversation about flowers, but the chair behind me quickly turned into a climbing post. A few minutes later she rolled out of the house on her tricycle, and we finally got our shot! Kids have an incredible energy that’s so contagious – I can’t wait for our next “playdate!” – it turned out to be such a fun adventure trying to get that picture!

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Designer Tale of a Ball Gown Dream Dashed

Since I was a child, my favorite color has been what I call, “highlighter-green” (yes, even though I’m one of the designers for le•top baby with the beautifully soft pinks and blues!). More than anything else in the world, I wanted a highlighter-green ball gown! I’ve even asked Russian Santa for it on several occasions…but, it was understandable that he probably raised an eyebrow in confusion while reading my letters – “highlighter-green gown?!?!?”

As my mom and I strolled through a local mall one day, I saw a rather out-of-place “prom” gown boutique selling what appeared to be replicas of the Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella style gowns! As luck would have it, they had one in highlighter-green! I couldn’t believe that my dream would finally come true! My mom, unfortunately (for her!), does not share my love for neon. She looked at my over-puffed, neon-green tulle, enormous ball of a dress, and said, “Are you kidding?” Thus, my dream of having a neon green ball gown were dashed. Fortunately (for me!), the fashion world has finally caught on! Since I follow and love all things even remotely related to design (and fashion and furnishings!), I’ve noticed neon colors are temporarily in…hopefully they’ll stay “in” (for adults!) a little longer!

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Jamee Reports: It’s a Boy!

Happy Birthday, Paulo Antonio!

le•top welcomes Jamee’s newborn into the world…Happy Birthday! We had a little fun trying to guess when this little sugar policeman was going to make his world debut, so here are the actual stats on Paulo Antonio‘s birth:

Monday, March 30th
9:28AM
7.9lbs
21 inches

One person got the date right (Kristin), and seven (of 15 guesses) correctly guessed the gender. Matt came closest to guessing the weight (his guess: 7.8), and one person (Jen) came within 28 minutes of the time of birth (her guess: 9AM).

Since no one guessed correctly on more than one birth stat, we’ll have to wait until someone else who’s having a baby wants to have a guessing game with us to give away any prizes (yes, of course this was a secret contest!).

Meanwhile, we congratulate Jamee (very tired, but very happy), her husband and new big sister, Miranda! And, a big ‘Happy Birthday’, Paulo Antonio!

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Designer Series: Le Top Baby

…interview with le•top baby designer: Elena Kotchetova

Design sketches by head le•top baby designer MaryKate

Whenever I tell people what I do for a living, they always reply, “Wow, that is so cool!” Well, I do work for a great company with an amazingly talented designer, Marykate Fleming, who leads the design team for le•top baby. Sometimes we take for granted being able to say wonderfully bizarre things like, “That blue is 5% too red”, and “I’m thinking of a more shabby-chic-not-so-heavy pink…” or, my signature phrase, “That looks like cake, let’s go with that!” But, after an hour of serious discussion that the turtle looks too “round” or the elephant isn’t “fat” enough, and how getting the elephant weight just right is crucial, I don’t need to be reminded that designing is a very “cool” job. Cool, indeed!

A few views of Elena's le•top baby favorites: Lullaby Landing, Fall 08 Collection (l) and Baby Train Spring 09 Collection (r)

And here we are, already into the start of a new season (Spring 2010!), and well into the beginning of what is going to be another gorgeous le top baby collection. I’ve met with Marykate to discuss thread colors and the shades of ribbons, as well as other design details. Very exciting! My favorite groups have always been the “Precious Blue” baby boy groups. “Precious Blue” is a color we pretty much invented, and we feature it in our collection every season. I love the clean, fresh and soft look of these groups. My favorites include “Lullaby Landing” from Fall 2008 and “Baby Train” from Spring 2009. Of course, everyone has her favorites. Believe me, there are lots of beautiful groups to chose from!

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“Vintage” le•top Baby Outfit

Over the weekend, I was going through my daughter’s old baby clothes, sifting through what I saved, and figuring out which ones I could use for my next little munchkin. I felt like I was going down memory lane as I perused and combed through each article of clothing. Oh, how much my little baby girl has grown. I can’t believe she’s 4 years old!

As I continued to go through the box, I found a le•top baby footed coverall! It was a baby shower gift I received when I was pregnant with Miranda, and I remember exactly who gave it to me, too (a very close friend of my mother’s). What’s so amazing about this little outfit was that it still looks and feels like new, especially compared to the other outfits I had tucked away. The fabric is still soft and luxurious. It didn’t look worn and overwashed. It looks just like the first day I got it! Amazing… after all these years! (I could probably save this one for my first grandchild, which will be many, many, MANY years from now.)

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